:!T(S .](tri;\\i. of tjik ])ki'aktmkkt of Ageiciltitke. — Oct., 1922. 



Sunflower Silage. 



/\(>h(rl.s</n . — Is tlie •••jowinj^- ot suiiHowt'is, wliere laiiifall is 

 liiiiil(MK more profitable than iiienlies or even kaffir corn? My object 

 is io coiiveit the sunflowers into sihi<>'e. About wliat (|inintity ot 

 ^■vvi\ is it'(niii;'(l Io 111" sown ]ier acre? Shouhl ilie seed lie soaked 

 before sowin<>', and how far should the rows be apart, and wliat yield 

 can be expected per acre? 



Eli<('tihurii School of A(jrlci(ltuie re])lies : The siuiHower will 

 thrive iiiulei' the same climatic conditions as will sweet sor<^'hums or 

 katfir corn, and will resist severer droupdits than mealies. From a 

 silao'e point- of view it cannot be considered a iiiore ])i()fitable ciop to 

 f>'row than either sweet sor<^-hums or kafiir cdrn under the same condi- 

 tions, foi' the (|ua1ity of soiphum and kaffir corn silages is better and 

 more ])alalable for dairy cattle than is sunflower silag'e. 'I'he foiiner 

 are clieai)er to handle and ])i(»(luce a better i)roduct with less care. 

 The yield ]»er acre in eacli case is about tlie same, varyino- from 5-10 

 tons to the acir, according' lo climate, soil, maniirin<;', and cultivation. 

 Sunflower seed nuiy be sown in (bills '■] feet apart, and thinned out to 

 ab(-ut 12 inches in the rows; 5-8 lb. of s(>ed will l)e required to plant 

 a?i acre. Tnless the moisture content of tlie soil is insufficient to o-ive 

 an even o(>iinination it will not be necessary to soak the seed before 

 idant in"'. 



Mating of Young Celts. 



( hidtslionrti. — At what age should young gelts about five to six 

 months of age be mated, and do you consider the practice of letting 

 tlcm all run with the l«oar at the same time a good one? 



?Jlst'nhuifj SrJioo] of Af)rlculture replies: If your gelts are par- 

 ticulaily well-grown, they coiild be mated at eight nninths of age, 

 though in the majority of cases it would be wiser to hold them back 

 until they are about ten months. In the case of g^lts that one is 

 desirous of developing for show purposes, it is invariably necessary 

 to hold them back until they are twelve or even fourteen nninths of 

 age. ]\\\\ this practice is not recommended, exce])t where judicious 

 feeding is j)ractise(l, as the gelts will probably take on too high a 

 degree of condition, in which case they are lik(dy to become sterile. 

 ( )i'(linarily, it is not a good ])ractice to run the boar with a lot of 

 gelts and sows that are to be mated, and particularly is this true in 

 the case of ])ure-l)re(l stock. If this is done, a valuable boar's use- 

 fulness will be considerably shortened. It is a better practice, there- 

 foie, to observe carefully when your gelts come on heat, and to turn 

 them out separately witli tlie boar. When you notice the gelts in 

 this condition — it may be that it is just the beginning of the oestral 

 ]jeriod — if only one service is then allowed, small litters are likely to 

 be obtained. The best results are ordinarily secured if mating takes 

 ])lace when the gelts oi' sows have begun to go off. It is, however, 

 leconiniended that you have your gelts served imnuMliatelv you notice 

 them come on, and then again the following morning. This practice 

 has proved highly satisfactory at Elsenburg during the past few years. 



T?ead the bulletin "Pigs and Piggeiies," ]*rice -">d. ]U('])aid, 



